First time cruise with Celebrity Equinox

We have just returned for our first ever cruise and i thought i would share a few points for the benefit of other first timers.

Positives! The ship was fantastic , organisation good , food above average , ( not excellent) but I think if you dined in speciality restaurants you would get excellent. I was pleasantly surprised by how sound proof our room was . We were on level 6 near the middle of the ship. The room was spacious and comfortable with a large private balcony. Although our cruise was full capacity 3000 people aboard it didn't feel like that . We enjoyed the music in the evenings in the various bars, the ship was really lovely and hugely spacious. Most of the staff were very friendly and helpful.

Negatives.

Shore Excursions ! We only did 2 both were dismal ( mainly due to poor tour guides ) and hugely expensive , I would definitely not do these again. The days we sorted out own transport or just explored the closest town were far better and more More
affordable.

Bar service was not great , you had to look for staff on several occasions to get a drink, especially in the pool area.

Website is terrible , needs to be addressed , very long waits to get through on the phone.

Didn't realize you can't get photos after the cruise , we had many taken I assumed you could go online and purchase this doesn't seem possible.

Internet is very expensive which is ridiculous when its free in most hotels.

Extras are expensive like shore excursions and just a game of bingo costs $39 - $59.

Over all we had a great week and would recommend Celebrity although I would probably book through a travel agent and not directly through them. Less